Tonga
Last updated May 3, 2026
Composite GEFRI Score
Emerging readiness
Tonga demonstrates early-stage readiness to meet the challenges and opportunities of education in a rapidly changing world (44th percentile worldwide). Investments are generating initial gains, yet substantial gaps persist in several dimensions. Higher scores indicate a system that is better prepared to anticipate and shape the future of learning.
- Global percentile
- 44th
- Global rank
- Not ranked (microstate)
- Regional rank
- Not ranked (microstate)
- Viewing data for
Country profile
Tonga trails global peers in Innovation (32, 20th percentile). A coordinated reform effort is needed to strengthen education futures readiness.
Uneven scores across dimensions highlight areas that need targeted coordination.
R&D investment remains modest, affecting long-term innovation potential. Policy execution and regulatory capacity remain weak, leaving reforms fragmented and hard to sustain. Girls outperform boys in secondary pathways, adding pressure to address male dropout risks.
School Access and Gender Parity and GEFRI Composite present a near-term leapfrog opportunity: performance is just below the global average, backed by enough observed data to support forward planning. Regionally, Innovation lags peers the most, signalling where investment could have the highest impact.
Note: Most indicators rely on observed data, offering a dependable evidence base for decisions.
Key insights
- Scores range from Infrastructure (55.5) to Innovation (31.9), reflecting variation across dimensions.
- Trails regional peers most clearly in Innovation.
Regional peers: East Asia & Pacific
Composite GEFRI Score
| Global rank | Regional rank | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | Hong Kong SAR, China | 78.84 |
| 3 | 2 | Korea, Rep. | 78.17 |
| 4 | 3 | Singapore | 77.81 |
| 12 | 4 | Australia | 75.95 |
| 13 | 5 | Japan | 75.88 |
| 19 | 6 | New Zealand | 73.08 |
| — | — | NauruMicrostate | 61.59 |
| — | — | Northern Mariana IslandsMicrostate | 61.43 |
| 48 | 7 | Brunei Darussalam | 61.13 |
| — | — | American SamoaMicrostate | 61.09 |
| 49 | 8 | Macao SAR, China | 61.06 |
| — | — | GuamMicrostate | 60.74 |
| 50 | 9 | Thailand | 60.74 |
| 53 | 10 | Indonesia | 60.55 |
| 55 | 11 | Fiji | 60.34 |
| — | — | New CaledoniaMicrostate | 59.24 |
| — | — | French PolynesiaMicrostate | 58.11 |
| — | — | PalauMicrostate | 57.53 |
| 67 | 12 | Viet Nam | 57.46 |
| 69 | 13 | Mongolia | 57.00 |
| 73 | 14 | Malaysia | 56.66 |
| 77 | 15 | China | 55.08 |
| 85 | 16 | Philippines | 52.64 |
| — | — | SamoaMicrostate | 51.59 |
| — | — | TuvaluFCSMicrostate | 49.72 |
| — | — | TongaMicrostate | 48.28 |
| — | — | KiribatiFCSMicrostate | 46.97 |
| — | — | Marshall IslandsFCSMicrostate | 46.38 |
| — | — | Micronesia, Fed. Sts.FCSMicrostate | 42.67 |
| 110 | 17 | Timor-LesteFCS | 41.47 |
| 111 | 18 | Vanuatu | 41.25 |
| 122 | 19 | Korea, Dem. People's Rep. | 36.56 |
| 127 | 20 | Cambodia | 33.92 |
| 128 | 21 | MyanmarFCS | 33.78 |
| 136 | 22 | Lao PDR | 31.66 |
| 138 | 23 | Solomon IslandsFCS | 31.58 |
| 151 | 24 | Papua New GuineaFCS | 26.21 |